Sat 02.23.2019

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Sat 02.23.2019

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Album Review: Ron Gallo, Heavy Meta

A swift change of pace does Ron Gallo well on his first solo release, Heavy Meta, which dropped February 3 via New West. Gallo undoubtedly succeeds at skillfully abandoning the blues-y, Americana sound that dominated the music produced by his former group, Toy Soldiers, for a slick, punk attitude and the chaotic, frenetic force of garage rock. Quick wit, clever musings, and intelligent introspect are all staples of the new record, communicated through the evocative, rhythmic tone of Gallo’s thundering vocals as well as the hellish strumming of an electric guitar. It is obvious that Gallo, in expanding his music boundaries, has no reservations in regards to sharing his profound perspective with the world. “Why do you have kids? Why did you make children? You gave all the baby daddy’s money for food to the dead eyed street pharmaceutical dude. Accidents having accidents, now mother like daughter, father like son. R.I.P. next generation; goodnight, honey, you’ve got nothing to look up or forward to,” bellows Gallo in the chilling “Why Did You Have Kids?”

Ron Gallo’s ability to transcend the confines of conventionality is colorfully displayed within the eleven tracks of his multifaceted masterpiece. As an eclectic collection of experimental sounds and a wide array of tempos reverberate off the walls, both eerie concepts and hauntingly honest messages about modern realities slowly unfold. In an interview with Noisey, Gallo described the album as “kind of a bit of an assault on humanity. The idea to start questioning things. Now being a good time to wake up and look within and look at the world around us and sort of understand our own ability to transform ourselves and the world. The record came from that place of me starting to challenge everything that I thought that I was. But it’s all in good humor too, which is kind of the two sides of it. ‘Cause we’re not serious people necessarily, but I think it’s important to use music to talk about that stuff. Dark humor is sort of where it ends up being.”

Heavy Meta is a catalogue of dreamy, otherworldly chords and noises that bring the senses as well as the emotions to another, drastic level of operation. In picking apart the human psyche, Ron Gallo curates an extensive, mind-bending journey through multiple realms of existence. “She bought new eyes on the black market, the kind where history flies by and is erased by her iris. I watched the eclipse as the sun drips across her eyelids; her beast lingers where no one else can see,” he croons in “Black Market Eyes.” Surely, then, enthusiastically reaching into Gallo’s far-from-empty backpack and pulling out a fistful of his ingenious artistry catalyzes a reaction far from the usual– in the best way humanly possible. Heavy Meta flawlessly depicts the intricate inner workings of a human mind; the complexities of which make Gallo’s music all the more attractive. The kaleidoscopic melodies that exist within the eleven tracks of the record are bound to inspire thought and empower action.